Raley White - EuroXPRO Turkey

Feb 02, 2010

EuroXPRO 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey without question has been the highlight of my AIESEC experience. After 2.5 years of leading the organization at the local level, here I was in a leadership conference with 300 AIESECers from over 50 different countries strategizing to make AIESEC the leading organization for youth leadership and impact.

It was great to see the warm welcome the US delegates received from the international network after being absent for so many years. Sitting in truly international focus groups, I was able to engage with the organization at the global level looking into what’s next for AIESEC. AIESEC 2010 was coming to an end and the next BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal; which I learned is surprisingly a recognized industry term) was ready to be created to continue the organizational growth of the past 5 years. The ideas and different understandings of where AIESEC could go definitely challenged my understanding of AIESEC and its potential. The energy, drive, and innovation in the AIESECers there was breathtaking. One can never explain the feeling of dancing a common song such as Tunak Tunak with AIESECers from 50 different countries. The many informal conversations I had about different subjects such as student life in Kenya, the views of Ukrainian youth on communism, or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict all made the experience more rewarding.

But the importance of EuroXPRO is not just those 8 days, but rather the outcome of that conference and impact it has into the future of AIESEC US. My experience at EuroXPRO with the future MCVPs and LCPs of Europe and North America as well as AIESEC International gave me the tools and the knowledge to truly create impact in my LC. It gave me the opportunity to understand AIESEC at a more global level and in different cultural contexts. There are many differences in AIESEC from country to country including AIESEC culture, types
of members, ways of managing the organization, and ways of leading members to success. Being in a leadership conference with AIESECers from such different national AIESEC contexts, gave me the opportunity to see AIESEC in a different light and learn more improved ways to bring AIESEC US to provide higher quality AIESEC experiences.

In my LC after returning from Turkey, I was able to increase outgoing exchange by 144% based in part on international cooperations that I created at EuroXPRO. I acquired knowledge about how to better manage my EB team to increase productivity and efficiency, thereby also improving the EB experience. I learned about projects, the power that they have in motivation and team management, and also how they could fit well into my LC. Experienced sales members at EuroXPRO provided me new ideas of how to increase sales specifically through social media such as LinkedIn. Finally, I brought to the US opportunities for international cooperation for other LCs to increase their growth. What I take from this conference will not only serve my LC during my term, but also the future leaders of my LC, and others in the US.

After attending EuroXPRO 2010, I do know now that my future interests are in becoming MCVPOGX at the national level in order to bring on the next challenge after my LCP term to best create impact within the organization. Seeing the motivating individuals at EuroXPRO who had taken that step made it clear that that was what I wanted to do.

I would like to thank the AIESEC Life Network for providing me the JoAnn Boland Scholarship. Without the award, attending an international conference such as EuroXPRO would have been difficult financially. It was such a grand opportunity for me as well as a grand learning experience to increase impact within the organization. Thank you very much.